“If they are now being ­transparent why are they trying to block it?” Our ­request ­followed the ­ Hillsborough Independent ­Panel’s (HIP) damning report into events surrounding the FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool on April 15, 1989.

Under the Freedom of ­Information Act we asked for correspondence relating to Hillsborough involving Mr Crompton, 48, for the period nine days before the report to two days afterwards.

South Yorkshire police replied 16 days later saying: “We believe that we need further time in which to provide a full response.

“We consider the exemption in section 38 – Health & Safety – ­applies to the information you have requested as the release may prejudice the health and safety of some individuals.

“We now need further time to consider the public interest in disclosing the information.”

Last week the force handed the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) the names of 1,444 former and serving ­officers involved in Hillsborough and its aftermath. The IPCC has launched its ­biggest inquiry into police conduct following the HIP report.

Attorney General ­Dominic Grieve said he will be applying for new inquests for the victims in light of the findings.

Last week the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire police, Sir Norman Bettison, 56, quit amid claims about his role in the aftermath of the disaster.

It is alleged that as an ­inspector with South Yorkshire police he helped concoct a story that drunken fans were to blame.

He denies the claims and we can reveal just days after the HIP report he told police staff it was “business as usual”.

In a video address he told them he was not going to be “distracted” by the claims and urged them to carry on as normal.

But on Wednesday he quit, ­saying he was not resigning ­because of “any allegations about the past but because this has become a distraction to ­policing in West Yorkshire”.